DEVASTATED Scouts are appealing for donations to replace a stolen trailer which they rely on for camping trips and helping the community.

2nd Cricklade Scouts group's trailer was stolen last week from the Cricklade Cricket Club on Abingdon Court Farm, where it was being stored.

Thieves removed the padlock from the gates of the cricket club before taking off the trailer’s wheel clamp and towing it away sometime between 5.30pm last Monday and 7.30am the next day.

Although the £6,000 trailer is insured, it is feared that the Scouts’ camping trip to Brecon in South Wales later this month will not go ahead because the insurance cash will not come through in time.

The theft of the trailer also means that the Scouts will have to cancel plans to help out stallholders at Cricklade Festival on June 21 by taking their equipment to the event.

Now the Scouts are appealing for donations to help them buy a new trailer.

Martin Ferm, Scout group leader, said: “The Scouts are upset because it means that potentially they cannot go on camp and they cannot get their gear there.

“We have had a lot of offers to borrow people’s trailers which we are pursuing but that trailer forms a big part of our Scout’s activities so we definitely need to replace it.

"It is despicable that someone would stoop so low as to steal a trailer, regardless of whether they are a Scout group or not.”

Martin added that although he is making an insurance claim for the stolen trailer, he does not know if the insurance cash will cover the cost of it and whether the cash will be received before the camping trip takes place.

The theft of the scout’s trailer is the second trailer theft in a month in the town.

Sometime between 6pm on May 18 and 7pm on May 19 an Ifor Williams LM125 flatbed trailer went missing from the Common Hill area of Cricklade.

Katie Bond, a spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police , said: “Wiltshire Police have followed a number of lines of enquiry but at this stage, unfortunately, there are no further lines of enquiry to follow therefore there will be no further action unless any other information becomes available. This will then be investigated.”

To donate to the scouts appeal for a new trailer, visit mydonate.bt.com/events/replacementtrailer/230910.

If you have information about the theft of the trailer call Wiltshire Police on 101 and quote crime number 5415/0047/992.